We have some exciting news for fans of Traveller - on Thursday July 6th, at 16:00pm (BST/GMT+1), we will be launching a brand new Kickstarter for Traveller: The Great Rift & Deep Space Exploration box set!

Written by Traveller fan favourite Martin Dougherty, the Great Rift box set will (initially) contain:

We are really pumped up about this one, and Martin has already completed more than half of the manuscript, which we will be previewing throughout the Kickstarter (Martin will be diving in throughout July as well, ready to answer any of your questions and let you know his thoughts on where the Great Rift is going). Not only are we diving into one of the least covered and most mysterious areas of the Third Imperium universe, we are also exploring deep space and all the weird and wonderful discoveries to be made there.

As well as the histories and worlds of the explored systems, each sector includes rules on its own unique vehicles, spacecraft, aliens, animals and diseases. While you read about the great agricultural-transfer ships that service the population of Oleiros, you will also see complete High Guard statistics and deck plans for them. As you discover the vicious meteor swarms of R'Bak, you will be provided with the rules to inflict them upon passing ships. In a nutshell, you are not only getting four sectors in the Great Rift, you are also receiving everything needed to incorporate them into actual game play.

The Deep Space Exploration Handbook then takes you on a journey through what may be found in the depths of space - anything from fully-fledged systems, proto-stars just forming, nebulae and, of course, black holes (and yes, we have rules for what happens to your ship in all these places!). An expanded star creation system takes the referee through the process of generating brand new worlds, from the central star(s) to the furthest planetoids, complete with guidance on assigning orbital positions.

Finally, the book is rounded off with a selection of spacecraft dedicated to investigating the unknown and supporting deep space expeditions, including the Armstrong-class exploration vessel featured on the front of the box, a rugged and reasonably priced 1,000 ton ship that will be perfect for Travellers to begin their own expeditions.

We will be previewing chapters, rules and artwork from the box set throughout the Kickstarter process, and we will be polling backers for their opinions on the content, as well as any (hopefully) unblocked stretch goals - if you join in on this great expedition, you will have a very real chance to influence the Traveller universe.

See you there on Thursday - we will post links in the afternoon, as soon as the site goes live!